In the court of public opinion, the Orlando Magic appear to have left their fans underwhelmed as the franchise begins a massive rebuilding project by trading Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers.

And 16 years after Shaquille O’Neal left via free agency for the Lakers, Orlando fans watch another superstar Magic center head to Southern California, the Orlando Sentinel noted.

In return for Howard, the Magic get Arron Afflalo and Al Harrington from the Nuggets, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless from the 76ers, Josh McRoberts and Christian Eyenga from the Lakers and lottery protected first-round picks from each of the three teams.

Earlier Thursday, it appeared that the Magic might receive All-Star big man Pau Gasol from the Lakers, but he wasn’t part of the final trade for Howard in which the Magic’s goals were to gain draft picks and rid the team of long-term salaries of players such as Jason Richardson and Chris Duhon.

However, the protected draft picks the Magic receive will be coming from three teams—the Lakers, Nuggets and Sixers—that are playoff contenders.

Before the four teams received league approval on the trade, new Magic coach Jacque Vaughn was mostly mum Friday morning when asked about the trade on the "Open Mike" radio show in Orlando, the Sentinel reported.

“Well, you know, I’m still trying to keep my job this first month and not get fined, so I can’t deny or confirm (the trade),” Vaughn said. “We’ll hold to what we talked about earlier this in year, and that’s doing what’s in the best interests of this ballclub and having people here that want to be here, and that won’t change.”

On the face of things, count Afflalo, 26, among that group.

He tweeted about the trade Friday morning: "Orlando .... above all i love this game .... destiny and opportunity ... excited".

The Magic are scheduled to begin its training camp Oct. 1, and although new GM Rob Hennigan hadn’t ruled out the possibility of Howard starting camp with the team, the Sentinel noted that his presence—and the resulting distractions—would have made it difficult for Vaughn to instill a team-first culture in his first year as an NBA head coach.

The Magic selected Howard out of Southwest Atlanta (Ga.) Christian Academy with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft, and in eight season he played in the All-Star Game six times and became the franchise leader in points scored (11,435), rebounds (8,072) and blocked shots (1,344).

SIXERS TAKE A GAMBLE, TOO

The Philadelphia 76ers, like the Los Angeles Lakers, are taking a calculated risk in the blockbuster deal that sent Dwight Howard to the LA.

He is scheduled to make close to $16.5 million this season. And although Bynum’s signing an extension with the 76ers is not out of the question, according to an unidentified source cited by ESPN, his stance all summer has been he would sign an extension only with the Lakers.

“The Sixers are willing to take a shot (without Bynum’s commitment),” said an unidentified source cited by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The newspaper noted that Bynum, who grew up about an hour away from Philadelphia in Plainsboro, N.J., could sign a three-year, $60 million extension this season or wait to become a free agent after the season and be eligible for a five-year, $102 million deal.

Despite that uncertainty, the Inquirer called the 76ers getting Bynum a coup for team president Rod Thorn. When asked how the Sixers could become a possible contender for a championship, three words usually weren’t too far from coming out of his mouth: “Dominant big man.”

When inspired, Bynum is exactly that.

Coach Doug Collins, who has commented on how nice it would be to have that force in the post, reinforced that sentiment Friday while in London as part of NBC’s television crew for the Olympics.

“When you think about adding Andrew Bynum, a big man who can score in the paint, rebound and block shots—something we desperately needed—and Jason Richardson adds another shooter to our lineup, so I’m very excited,” Collins said, according to ProBasketballTalk.com.

“On the flip side of that,” he continued, “you have to trade somebody, and Andre Iguodala had a brilliant career for the Philadelphia 76ers. I coached him for two years, he helped me win a lot of games. I’m very, very appreciative of him and I wish him well in Denver.”

Bynum, who turns 25 in October, entered the 2005 NBA draft directly out of Saint Joseph’s High School in Metuchen, N.J., and was selected by the Lakers with the 10th overall pick. In his seven seasons with LA, Bynum averaged 11.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.

Last season was his best in the league as he averaged 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and shot 55.8 percent from the floor in 35.2 minutes per game.

PUTTING THE 'D' BACK IN DENVER

Although this is called the Dwight Howard trade in NBA circles, the Nuggets are calling it the Andre Iguodala trade—the deal, according to The Denver Post, that put the 'D' back in Denver.

The Nuggets, who led the NBA in scoring last season but were one of its worst defensive teams, now have one of the league's best perimeter defenders in Iguodala, who came to Denver in the complicated four-team blockbuster.

Last season, the 6-6 Iguodala, 28, averaged 12.4 points per game, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists. According to The Post, he will likely start at shooting guard, along with starters Ty Lawson at point guard, Danilo Gallinari at small forward and Kenneth Faried and JaVale McGee in the low post.

On paper, the Nuggets lose scoring—Arron Afflalo (15.2 ppg) and Al Harrington (14.2 ppg)—but with so many other options to put the ball in the basket, The Post reported that the Nuggets targeted Iguodala to enhance their perimeter rebounding and passing, in addition to his lockdown defense.

Coach George Karl’s offense works best when guards rebound and push the ball in transition. Iguodala averaged about double the rebounds that Afflalo did last season.

According to The Post, the deal could be questioned by some fans for a pair of reasons: 1) By getting involved in the complicated deal, Denver essentially helped the conference rival Lakers, and 2) Afflalo might still have room for improvement and a chance to emerge as one of the league’s most formidable scoring guards.

MAVS MISS OUT—AGAIN

Howard ending up with the Lakers is a bitter pill for a Dallas Mavericks front office that couldn't close a deal with guard Deron Williams a month ago.

The Mavericks, according to ESPNDallas.com, had hoped that the Magic, having struggled this long to complete a Howard trade, would just hold onto him or eventually ship him to Houston, where he might then prefer to come to Dallas when he became a free agent next offseason.

The Mavs reportedly were Howard's third trade choice behind the Brooklyn Nets and Lakers.

Unlike those two teams, the Mavericks didn't have the assets to do a trade now; they watched this one from the outside all the way. But, unlike those two teams, the Mavs have cap space for next summer, if only Howard would get to free agency. However, ESPNDallas.com noted, it's hard to conceive of Howard doing anything next summer other than signing for five years and $100 million to live and play in LA.

Worse, the deal also might have taken out another big man next summer with Bynum, the league's second-best center behind Howard, headed to Philadelphia, an hour from his boyhood home.

One last disappointing note: The Mavericks open the season Oct. 30 in LA against, yep, the Lakers.